Community Assets: emerging learning, challenges and questions
| Title | Community Assets: emerging learning, challenges and questions |
| Author(s) | Julian Dobson |
| Organisation | Joseph Rowntree Foundation |
| Date | September 2011 |
| No. of pages | 8 |
| Key words | community empowerment; community entrepreneurs; local networks; neighbourhood regeneration; social productivity; social return on investment; sustaining communities; public spending cuts; inequality |
| Description | There may never be a better opportunity for community organisations to buy or manage assets such as buildings, parks and wind farms for local benefit. But can they make the most of this opportunity while surviving spending cuts, political pressures and commercial competition? |
| Select quotations | “Difficult circumstances could herald a renaissance of mutual and social enterprise approaches.” “No single solution or set of solutions is likely to be appropriate everywhere.” “Funding is scarce; assets can become liabilities; communities need time and support to develop their plans, and future success cannot be guarantee. While government is encouraging community ownership, state support that could facilitate such ownership is under pressure.” “Key messages for government include the importance of timely and adequate support, the need to value public benefits when negotiating sales, and the need to consider the wider costs of letting assets lie neglected.” “For community organisations the central messages are to be self-aware, prepared, sufficiently skilled to manage projects and buildings, sure of local support, and ready for a long-term commitment.” “There is a danger that localist and entrepreneurial approaches will deepen divides between the poor and the not-so-poor. Capacity, skills and funding are not available equally.” “Government and community organisations need to find ways of mitigating and reducing these inequalities without snuffing out entrepreneurial energy among the pioneers of community assets. This will require new forms of partnership, facilitation, mutual aid and sharing learning.” |
| Link | http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/community-assets-challenges-opportunities-summary.pdf |
